48 bay 4U storage server $599 obo

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Patrick

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Dec 21, 2010
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Not quite a Backblaze but 1/10th the cost at $599 obo: Chenbro 48 Bay Top Loader 4U Chassis w/Rail Kit+Drive Brackets COMPLETE SYSTEM!

It looks like the chassis even has 2x 2.5" hot swap bays in the rear of the chassis and spots for 2 more drives (maybe 2.5"?) internally. I would likely be tempted to replace fans/ that motherboard but it is a really interesting option.

The big question is what kind of SAS expander the unit is using. SAS2 and it would be really intriguing. You can see the LSI card is connected via two SFF-8087 connectors.

2 of 10 sold, maybe someone on here has experiences with them.
 

frogtech

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Jan 4, 2016
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Nice. Wouldn't an expander really limit what 48 drives, mechanical or solid state, could do?
 

Manav Agarwal

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Mar 31, 2016
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Awesomesauce

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Apr 20, 2016
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I got one. It's not well packed and sadly damaged quite bad. The seller obviously doesn't know how to pack this heavy hunk of metal.

2 layer of bubble wraps and peanuts foam....... really? How the heck he expect it not to be damaged is beyond me.

All the chassis i bought was packed with hard cardboard and thick padding foam. Peanuts are for light items only as they're not dense enough to absord impact.

Having shipping issue out of the way, i would avoid this case. Coming from Supermicro quality this case build quality is cheap. It's not braced well hence can get bent of out shape. Even the metal panels are relatively thick ( still not as thick as Supermicro), due to its size, bracing need to be well engineered to keep the integrity of the case.

The fan bracket in the middle is actually the only brace that hold the case in shape. Mine got bent, and thus causing the last row of hd bays to be warped.

Talking about the hd trays, its the cheapest trays i have seen. All plastic, very flimsy. Also there is no sliding motion, it literally drops in the slot, so it requires caution not damaging the expander backplane when installing HDs

Now the main drawback is speed. The expander backplanes are two 24 port 6Gbs backplanes. They're linked together by default so one controller for 48 ports. You have option to run 2 backplanes with two separate controllers. Still thats 6GBs shared with 24 ports. For me that's only good for mediastorage.

Overall, at the msrp, i would puke. At $599 listing price i would still not buy it. I would rather get an extra drive bays chassis and hook it up to my 24 bays supermicro if i need more storage space.
 

Patrick

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@Manav Agarwal on the other hand, the PCIe slots are at the rear of the chassis which is good but you are passing air through 48 drives first.

@frogtech - in this box, much like some of the earlier Backblaze pods, you are going to be limited by network throughput before hard drives. If you are going SSD, this is the variant you would want: Chenbro 48-Bay 4U Server Chassis with 3x 550W Power Supply RM41800 RM41848 NEW

@Awesomesauce great feedback!!!! I had a feeling someone on here had seen them. Your experiences noted above are great. On the expander, it is a SAS2 expander right? Do you happen to have a screenshot of LSI megaraid or another utility with details on the expander model number? If it is SAS2 then you get 6.0 * 4 = 24Gbps which is not bad. That is still 2-3GB/s worth of bandwidth. For most NAS applications that is fine.
 

Awesomesauce

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Apr 20, 2016
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@Awesomesauce great feedback!!!! I had a feeling someone on here had seen them. Your experiences noted above are great. On the expander, it is a SAS2 expander right? Do you happen to have a screenshot of LSI megaraid or another utility with details on the expander model number? If it is SAS2 then you get 6.0 * 4 = 24Gbps which is not bad. That is still 2-3GB/s worth of bandwidth. For most NAS applications that is fine.
I will take more pics tmr as i disassemble the chassis. The damage has caused the psus to be bent and pinched in the case ( the power distribution board is probably done). Ultimately i would like to return it for a refund. I have the feeling the expander is SAS1. Due to the way the backplane installed, its impossible to see without removing it completely.

To be honest, this is my first Chenbro chassis, and I'm very unimpressed with the quality.
 
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May 8, 2015
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@Manav Agarwal on the other hand, the PCIe slots are at the rear of the chassis which is good but you are passing air through 48 drives first.

@frogtech - in this box, much like some of the earlier Backblaze pods, you are going to be limited by network throughput before hard drives. If you are going SSD, this is the variant you would want: Chenbro 48-Bay 4U Server Chassis with 3x 550W Power Supply RM41800 RM41848 NEW

@Awesomesauce great feedback!!!! I had a feeling someone on here had seen them. Your experiences noted above are great. On the expander, it is a SAS2 expander right? Do you happen to have a screenshot of LSI megaraid or another utility with details on the expander model number? If it is SAS2 then you get 6.0 * 4 = 24Gbps which is not bad. That is still 2-3GB/s worth of bandwidth. For most NAS applications that is fine.
An alternative 2.5 option would be something like this. This seems way more appealing to me than the chenbro solution, granted its a JBOD...

4U Supermicro 88 Bay 2.5" SAS2 SATA JBOD Storage 417E16-RJBOD1 with LSI 9200-8e

Sadly my budget is pretty maxed out until I sell of some stuff. Just picked up one of the UCS 6140XP for testing...